Hike at Home During Quarantine: Elephant Mountain

One of the best parts about visiting Taiwan is going on a hike. However, you’ll be more than aware that it is impossible to visit Taiwan at this moment; and most other places for that matter. If you’re stuck at home and desperate to stretch your legs, we may have come up with a solution. Why not recreate your favorite hikes at home? Let’s start easy: Elephant Mountain. The hiking trail is about 1.5km long, so it shouldn’t tire you out too much. But, if you’ve been quarantined or locked down for a while, it should still be a bit of a challenge. Here’s how to recreate a hike at Elephant Mountain from the comfort and safety of your own home. (Read more:An Afternoon at Elephant Mountain)

You’re Going to Need Stairs

If you live in a bungalow or any other staircase-less home, then sorry, you’ve fallen at the first hurdle. The hiking trail at Elephant Mountain is stepped pretty much all the way, so you’re going to need either the stairs of your apartment building or the stairs in your house to recreate it. What we’re basically telling you, is to walk up and down your stairs enough times to cover 1.5km. Yes, we know it sounds weird, but it’s good exercise and it’s not like you have anything better to do. A man in France ran a marathon on his 7m-wide balcony. You can walk up 1,500m worth of stairs.

If you’ve climbed Elephant Mountain before, you’ll know that it often gets busy. Recreate this by stopping every few steps, or placing obstacles such as stuffed animals and cereal boxes every few steps to replicate the slow-moving hikers that would be getting in your way if you were there for real. Also, be sure to check Instagram every couple of minutes in honor of the influencers and the like you’d often see posing for pictures along the hike.

Put Your Headphones in

Elephant Mountain is usually packed with tourists from all over the world, so as you climb, you’ll hear snippets of conversations in many different languages. Replicate this by playing songs or listening to podcasts in different languages while you walk. It isn’t a trip to Elephant Mountain without trying to work out the language that the people walking past you are speaking in.

Make Sure Your Printer Has Enough Ink

Obviously, the highlight of climbing Elephant Mountain is the fantastic view of the Taipei skyline once you reach the top. Unless you are lucky enough to live in a fancy Xinyi apartment or somewhere similar, you probably don’t have this view available at home – but not to worry. Simply print out a picture of Taipei 101 and stick it at the top of the stairs. Once you’ve completed your 1.5km work of steps, stop at the top and marvel at the view. You’ve earned it!

Want to recreate some other Taiwan mountains? Read this article for inspiration.

Want to know more about Taiwan? Send your questions to Taiwan Scene at jieruwu@mytaiwantour.com.